ALA checks airfares online every couple of weeks, to determine average costs for round-trip travel to Los Cabos from most of the major metropolitan airports in the U.S. Our source is ITASoftware.com, a search engine that also is the backbone of many of the most popular online websites.
In our comparisons, we choose the arrival and departure dates to coincide with the start and end dates of the ALA sessions. These are the dates students should arrive/depart, as we are unable to accommodate early arrivals or late departures.
We review the results and choose the lowest published fare, with seats available at the time, and that do not require overnight travel, more than two connections, or a change of airports. You may find lower fares, if you are ready to accommodate those inconveniences.
The highest average priced flights are from Cleveland, Memphis, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh – all average over $800. The lowest average priced flights are from Los Angeles and San Francisco – both under $500. Obviously these prices can change weekly, as airlines review loads and sales. The best “deals” arguably are from Newark, Kansas City and Seattle – all under $600.
The average price for all tickets, all sessions, is $660.03. Pricing one year ago, was more than $100 less, with an average overall ticket price of $544.55.
Our travel contacts are reporting that this is a result of airlines reducing the total number of seats into Los Cabos each week, by eliminating flights, or using smaller planes. At the same time, people who used to go to Cancun or Acapulco now are going to Los Cabos, as it is considered a safer resort destination. The result is higher demand for fewer seats – thus a rise in fare.
At any rate, attendees should work to save funds this fall and purchase tickets early, to take advantage of moderate pricing. High demand means the likelihood of discounted sale fares is low. What is more likely is that prices will begin to rise quickly after Thanksgiving.
The results for our search on October 28th are as follows (M=March):
| City of Origin | Jan 2-8 | M 4-10 | M 11-17 | M 18-24 | M 25-31 | AVG |
| Atlanta, GA (ATL) | $689.00 | $632.00 | $632.00 | $619.00 | $632.00 | $640.80 |
| Baltimore, MD (BWI) | $769.00 | $752.00 | $752.00 | $654.00 | $654.00 | $716.20 |
| Boston, MA (BOS) | $804.00 | $750.00 | $791.00 | $778.00 | $778.00 | $780.20 |
| Chicago, IL (ORD) | $461.00 | $665.00 | $666.00 | $670.00 | $670.00 | $626.40 |
| Cleveland, OH (CLE) | $962.00 | $911.00 | $939.00 | $847.00 | $847.00 | $901.20 |
| Dallas, TX (DFW) | $639.00 | $627.00 | $679.00 | $650.00 | $650.00 | $649.00 |
| Denver, CO (DEN) | $641.00 | $473.00 | $641.00 | $637.00 | $641.00 | $606.60 |
| Detroit, MI (DTW) | $795.00 | $652.00 | $652.00 | $652.00 | $652.00 | $680.60 |
| Houston, TX (IAH) | $624.00 | $582.00 | $775.00 | $582.00 | $616.00 | $635.80 |
| Indianapolis, IN (IND) | $642.00 | $582.00 | $711.00 | $627.00 | $711.00 | $654.60 |
| Kansas City, MO (MCI) | $587.00 | $556.00 | $587.00 | $587.00 | $587.00 | $580.80 |
| Los Angeles, CA (LAX) | $449.00 | $409.00 | $416.00 | $497.00 | $473.00 | $448.80 |
| Memphis, TN (MEM) | $855.00 | $865.00 | $865.00 | $865.00 | $865.00 | $863.00 |
| Minneapolis, MN (MSP) | $681.00 | $597.00 | $727.00 | $685.00 | $597.00 | $657.40 |
| Newark, NJ (EWR) | $587.00 | $593.00 | $587.00 | $587.00 | $587.00 | $588.20 |
| New York City (JFK) | $741.00 | $670.00 | $670.00 | $619.00 | $707.00 | $681.40 |
| Oakland, CA (OAK) | $556.00 | $538.00 | $551.00 | $551.00 | $671.00 | $573.40 |
| Omaha, NE (OMA) | $683.00 | $680.00 | $683.00 | $683.00 | $680.00 | $681.80 |
| Philadelphia, PA (PHL) | $870.00 | $870.00 | $870.00 | $863.00 | $823.00 | $859.20 |
| Phoenix, AZ (PHX) | $576.00 | $463.00 | $629.00 | $629.00 | $629.00 | $585.20 |
| Pittsburgh, PA (PIT) | $874.00 | $889.00 | $889.00 | $883.00 | $883.00 | $883.60 |
| Portland, OR (PDX) | $549.00 | $527.00 | $532.00 | $574.00 | $786.00 | $593.60 |
| San Francisco, CA (SFO) | $533.00 | $437.00 | $440.00 | $487.00 | $440.00 | $467.40 |
| Seattle, WA (SEA) | $542.00 | $504.00 | $522.00 | $546.00 | $504.00 | $523.60 |
| St. Louis, MO (STL) | $647.00 | $647.00 | $687.00 | $647.00 | $647.00 | $655.00 |
| Washington, DC (IAD) | $527.00 | $627.00 | $587.00 | $667.00 | $627.00 | $627.00 |
| Average Airfare: | $668.58 | $634.54 | $672.31 | $657.15 | $667.58 | $660.03 |